


The Finale

by Kyuubiluver342



Series: The Many Times Seto Kaiba Was In Debt To Joey Wheeler [30]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:35:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22181158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuubiluver342/pseuds/Kyuubiluver342
Summary: Joey and Seto have a heart to heart. Final part of this series.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Series: The Many Times Seto Kaiba Was In Debt To Joey Wheeler [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1186781
Comments: 9
Kudos: 148





	The Finale

Joey woke up in a hospital room, one hand cuffed to the bed railing. There was a moment where Joey didn’t remember what had happened, where he sat, confused by the sight, before the memories flooded back. His lower lip trembled as he covered his eyes with his other arm. The absolute crushing feeling of helplessness and defeat overwhelmed him as he started to cry.

Seto stood in the hospital waiting room. After returning home, he had completely passed out, waking up only when the urge to pee and feed his growling stomach actually hit him. As he washed his hands, he stared at the bruises around his wrists and felt his heart began to hammer in his chest. He got dressed, checked to see that Mokuba was still asleep and left for the hospital. He drove himself, despite Roland telling him not to, but he just had to get there.

It was much too early for visitors, but Seto stood there, waiting until he could be let in. He needed to see Joey, needed to see with his own eyes that Joey was ok.

“Mr. Kaiba? If you could follow me.” the nurse said.

She led him to a room near the back of the hospital and Seto vaguely got the idea that Joey was being kept away from other patients. It made his blood boil, but he said nothing. He would worry about that later. The nurse knocked once before going inside and Seto let out a breath he had no idea he was holding. Joey was awake, but didn’t look at them, staring blankly at the ceiling. Seto thanked the nurse and she left.

Seto slowly moved closer, arms crossed as he looked Joey over. His face was a little bruised, but he looked fine. Seto grabbed the chair and sat down, not sure what to even say. All his usual bravo was gone. All the words he had planned on saying flew right out the window. He had never felt so raw. Joey’s eyes drifted to him and he stared before speaking.

“Hey.” Joey said softly.

“Hey yourself.” Seto replied.

There was no need to be loud or put up a front. There was no barrier left between them. Both had seen the other at their worst. There was no reason to try and pretend they still hated each other, not after all they had been through. Joey let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

“He’s still alive.” Joey whispered.

Seto nodded. Roland had told him that Boss, Joey’s father, was still alive. In critical condition and would probably never walk away, but alive.

“He can’t hurt you anymore.” Seto whispered.

Joey opened his eyes and there were tears.

“He’ll never stop hurting me. I’ll never escape him.” Joey whispered back.

Seto thought about his own father. Thought about the crushing feeling he got whenever Gozaburo had gotten that cold look in his eyes. He thought about the sleepless nights, dinners where he hadn’t been allowed to eat, the days he had prayed for a miracle to come save Mokuba and he from the hell they lived in. When that man had died, Seto could honestly say he finally felt free. 

“I won’t let him hurt you anymore.” Seto stated.

“You can’t protect me.” Joey replied.

“I can and I will… if you’ll let me.” Seto said.

Joey stared at him and then looked down.

“I don’t know how.” Joey said.

Seto’s hand trembled as he reached out and grabbed Joey’s. This was it. If Joey rejected him now, he would never get up the courage again. For a second, Joey’s hand flinched and Seto was going to pull back, but instead, Joey’s hand curled around his. Seto locked eyes with Joey, who smiled.

“I guess… I can learn.” Joey whispered.

Seto felt his heart swell. Joey shifted slightly, embarrassed and Seto caught a flash of silver. Looking over, he saw the handcuffs and grit his teeth. Joey felt him tense and squeezed his hand.

“It’s ok. They have to do this. I’m a suspect, remember?” Joey said gently.

“They’ll have to let you go. You didn’t have a choice. You were forced into it.” Seto replied.

Joey nodded, but didn’t agree with him and Seto had to hold back his rage. He would not let Joey go down for this.

“I’ll call my lawyers again. They got the charges completely dropped last time. They’ll do it again.” Seto explained.

Joey snickered.

“You also got those two officers fired.” Joey stated.

“And the chief demoted.” Seto agreed.

He had been quite pleased when the chief and his so called detectives made a public apology to Joey for arresting him. Seto had recorded it to watch it over and over again for his own pleasure.

“Seto. It’s ok.” Joey said gently.

“How can you say that?” Seto demanded.

“I hurt him. I almost…” Joey trailed off.

“You did what you had to. He wouldn’t have stopped.” Seto replied.

Joey shook his head.

“I didn’t even care about that. I didn’t even care about you or Mokuba. I just wanted him to hurt. Like he had always hurt me. I just wanted to feel powerful for once.” Joey explained.

“No one can blame you for that.” Seto said.

They were quiet and Seto suddenly noticed they were still holding hands. Seto didn’t care for prolonged contact like this usually, but with Joey, it felt nice. He could feel all the tension from yesterday flowing out of his body. 

Joey was safe, Mokuba was safe, he was safe. They were all safe and alive. They would get this cleared up and Joey would finally be free of his father. They could move on, grow together and see where this relationship led.

“I had dreams. For years.” Seto stated.

Joey stared at him and Seto continued.

“About doing the same to… him. There was a gun in his office drawer. More than once I went in there, thought about grabbing it, but I never did. I later learned he had cameras everywhere. He probably watched me stand there, debating with myself, laughing at me.” Seto admitted.

Joey nodded and they were quiet.

“He almost overdosed once. I was really young and came home to find him on the floor. I called an ambulance because I didn’t know what else to do. Years later, I wished I had left him for dead.” Joey said.

“But you didn’t. Because you cared.” Seto replied.

Joey swallowed.

“By that time, I didn’t even care about him anymore. I just was scared of being alone. I wasn’t sure what would happen to me if he died.” Joey said.

“I can testify that the system sucks.” Seto replied and Joey let out a laugh.

“Yeah, I guess you would know.” Joey whispered.

They sat there, watching as the sun started to peek through the blinds. There was a knock at the door and Seto looked up to see two officers standing there. Joey squeezed his hand before letting go.

“Mr. Kaiba. We need to speak to Mr. Wheeler, privately.” the one said.

Seto looked at Joey, who smiled and nodded.

“I’ll be ok.” Joey stated.

Seto crossed his arms.

“I’ll be in the waiting room down the hall.” Seto said calmly.

He gave the two officers a fierce glare as a warning before leaving. In the waiting room, Seto sat in a chair and stared at the ceiling. His mind was blissfully blank, something that didn’t happen often. It was always turning with new ideas for products and ways to better the company. Now? He felt calm, blank and empty. His phone went off and his peace was ruined. 

“Hey Mokuba.” he said softly.

He spoke to his brother for a few minutes, enjoying the simple batter between them. They didn’t speak about KaibaCorp or what happened yesterday. They didn’t talk about just how close they had come to losing everything. They spoke about old memories and forgotten times. Things Seto had almost completely forgotten about.

“Mr. Kaiba?” the nurse was back and Seto said goodbye to Mokuba before getting up.

She led him back to the room, where Joey was alone, but the handcuffs were gone. He nodded and she left.

“How did it go?” Seto asked as he sat down.

He eyed Joey’s hand, wondering if Joey would let him hold it again. Joey let out a sigh and sat up a bit.

“They are still trying to determine if it was considered self-defense or not. Apparently, he’s giving a different story.” Joey rolled his eyes and Seto scowled.

“I do hope they are not stupid enough to believe anything that comes out of his mouth, but then again…” Seto trailed off with a scowl.

“I don’t think he’s going to get out of this one. Not this time.” Joey said shaking his head.

As far as Seto was concerned, the man would pay one way or another. If the courts didn’t take care of him, Seto would do it himself. Joey reached out his hand and Seto grabbed it.

“Whatever happens, we will get through it.” Seto said gently.

“Well, when you say it like that, I’m sure it will work out.” Joey smiled and Seto relaxed back into the uncomfortable chair.

“And if they don’t, we will make them.” Seto replied.

Joey rolled his eyes.

“Ah yes, I forgot about that whole asshole part of your personality for a second there.” Joey teased.

Seto sniffed.

“Don’t forget that. It’s very important.” Seto replied.

Joey started to laugh and Seto found he liked that sound. Something so simple and free. He could get used to hearing it.


End file.
